Waiting
by AkaMizu-chan
Summary: She waited through the winter. Through the storms. She waited forty-one years for him to come back, all because of a promise. "Do you promise you'll come back?" He smiled serenely, sunshine glinting off of his brown eyes, reflecting the gold that was hidden there as well. "Of course. I've always returned, haven't I?" FonOC if you squint.
1. Chapter 1

"_Do you promise you'll come back?"_

_He smiled serenely, sunshine glinting off of his brown eyes, reflecting the gold that was hidden there as well._

"_Of course. I've always returned, haven't I?"_

_-x-_

_Thirty-five years,_ she thought to herself, smiling at the breeze ruffling her hair ever so slightly. It had been thirty-five long years since she had heard even a whisper of her best friend. She wasn't stupid, no; she knew he had a dangerous job. And seeing as how he had found her in one of the less-pleasant areas of China, one riddled with danger, she would have been ignorant to not have guessed. But it was his story to tell, and so she had never pressed.

Of course, he had always come back before. Before he started to be gone longer and longer, this look in his eyes of satisfaction and such _pride_. He had briefly told her, in more elegant words, that he had found a group of people to excel with. That they helped each other reach their full potential, that before this, every job had been simple, easy, and boring.

So, yes of course she was happy for him, even as she felt her heart drop with this news. This meant danger, danger, danger, and she just wanted to continue to enjoy their days around this little home he had brought her to.

It was a simple home.

There was no electricity or running water. The house was lit by candle or sun, and each morning four buckets of water from the well at the bottom of the hill were drawn. A stream nearby turned into a small waterfall that pooled into a small lake, perfect for bathing. There was a garden behind the house, a simple one, full of fruits and vegetables and herbs. It wasn't much; but it was home.

Her mind, as it sometimes did, went to darker places…

_ She was eight when he had found her, and he had been seventeen. She could still remember his black hair pulled back into a thin braid and his kind, warm brown eyes staring down at her. His lips tugged up into a half-hearted smile, but she could see and feel the pain in his eyes. Was it pain at seeing someone like this? Surely, in this area, he had seen the other children like her; cold, hungry, neglected, hurt, abused, dead._

_ There was no will left to live in her anymore. The local wars had killed her parents, she assumed, because the alternative of being abandoned was much worse. Her body was littered with scars and her mind had collected its fair share as well._

_ Nights of men luring her in with the promise of safety and food. Nights of men becoming drunk after their promise of safety. Nights of men touching her bare skin, of doing more than touching, of hurting her over and over before the next and the nextandthenext—_

"_What's your name?" The man asked, crouching down in front of her, his smile never wavering._

"_I dun 'ave one." Was the reply, her voice cracked from lack of water, after using it raw screaming last night in the stables behind the bar—_

_He seemed to ponder for a moment, "Can I give you one?"_

_She cleared her throat, speaking clearer now, but no real effort, "Does it matter?" She looked up at him, her eyes screaming helpmeimbroken, "Call me what will please you tonight, after you tell me how very safe I will be and the alcohol consumes you, because you won't remember a name I give you as you throw me aro-"_

_She stopped abruptly as she was pulled into his arms. Into a hug. He gently set her on her feet, "Please, say no more." His eyes seemed to burn with hurt and compassion for her, "If you would like a place to stay, please follow me. I will not force you into coming with me, but I can promise, you will be safe and I will never lay a hand on you." He gave a small pat to her head, still smiling, "Nor will I let anyone touch you so long as you are with me. My name is Fon."_

_ He started walking away, down the alleyway. Her pale grey eyes filled with tears at the heartfelt hug. The first one she had ever had, one she had always wanted as she watched better-off children go with their parents, warning them to not look at a stray like her. Someone broken. And despite how many empty promises men had made her, despite so much betrayal and anguish and hardship in her life that told her to never trust again—_

_Shereallywantedtotrustsomeone._

_Shewantedtoberight._

_Shewantedtobesafe._

_ With clumsy steps at first, her feet bloody and broken from some glass in the alleyway, she headed after Fon. Her long, greasy brown-black hair barely moved from being matted, as she ran, struggling to catch up. Her naivety and still-somewhat innocent belief that one day the promise would be real. And as Fon turned the corner and ohnohedisappearedwillhestillbethere—_

"_Zhen." Came his voice, he was still there, right in front of her._

_She blinked in confusion._

"_You do not have a name, yes? I will give you one, then." Fon smiled and ruffled her hair, "Zhen is appropriate."_

_ And as he turned and walked away, looking back to make sure she was there, she cried silently for Zhen did not fit her at all; one so tarnished and worn and destroyed did not have the right to a name such as Zhen. Zhen was a name fit for a princess. She was neither precious nor pure. But he saw fit to call her that anyways. And her heart, for the first time in many years, felt a little less cold._

_-x-_

Zhen smiled as she opened her grey eyes against the sun. She watched as it meandered its way towards the horizon to signify today's end. Of course, after she had arrived there had been many more memories. Learning to speak and write properly. Learning self-worth. Learning that nothing had been her fault when really, that's all it had ever felt like to her. Fon had taught her to live from the Earth, and using only what's needed. He had taught her many life lessons and inspired her to think for herself and draw conclusions.

At first he was always there. Zhen had many nightmares after first retreating to this home in the wilderness. Nightmares of nameless faces grabbing her, touching her again…and Fon was always there to hold her and wipe away her tears. At night, Lichie, Fon's monkey (he had clarified that he wasn't a pet, but a friend) would sleep on my bed. I hadn't noticed him at first, until one day he was just on Fon's shoulder. At my question, he said Lichie did as he liked. As Zhen grew older, they occurred less, and Fon began to leave for a day or two at time, for his job.

As Zhen grew older still, Fon would be gone for weeks or a month at a time. And he always came back. Sometimes, he was a little worn with a couple of bruises and cuts (which she would help him to the best of her ability with) but there. And then came that fated day, when he left for a mission with these comrades of his, and just…never returned. She had been fourteen when he left (but he had been her world.)

And so, here she stood, on the grounds that her rescuer had brought her to when she was eight. At the age of 49 (was she really so old?) she continued to tend to their home. Zhen refused to call it hers alone, as Fon had always come back when he said he would. It didn't matter, to her, how long she waited. His home would be ready when he came back to it.

Their home had withstood storms (which she had dutifully repaired it, what, six, seven, eight times now) and attempted looters who wandered too far and tried to ransack it (she had driven them off with the little martial arts Fon had taught her, he was knowledgeable about those things, more so than he let on she knew.) There were nights so cold she thought she would freeze as she nestled before the fire, and nights so hot she didn't risk a candle in the dark.

The sun finally sunk below the horizon and she smiled as a small red panda she had taken in during a cold winter made its way to her. Zhen named him Xiang, as he had been lucky she had seen him huddled against a tree during a snowstorm, no signs of a mother around. Like her. So she took him in, as Fon had taken her in, the never ending cycle.

As he approached she finished her oolong tea (Fon's favorite, which she drank because it reminded her of him) and turned around to head back to her home. Xiang weaved between her legs carelessly, much like a cat she had had a few years back who had never returned (her name had been Shu and she really had been the most gentle animal.) Zhen absentmindedly reached down to stroke the red panda tenderly, a rueful smile on her face.

"Yes, Xiang, you will eat soon. If you had your way, you'd be fat though."

Xiang made a noise of contentment and headed into the home first. Zhen sighed slightly, entering the home through the small wooden door before shutting it, letting the last little bit of sun rays light the home as she lit some candles. She'd have to find an empty bee hive again soon and melt the wax for more candles. It'd do now to stock up for the coming winter. The chill from the north was enough for her to start preparing for what may or may not be a harsh winter.

Her feet brushed up some of the dust from the dirt packed floor, travelling to the fire that was cooking tonight's dinner. She removed several pieces of the fish from the pot and put them on a clay dish for Xiang who dug in immediately. Then she ladled the rest into her bowl and sat next to Xiang and ate. Zhen was careful to only make enough for them to be full, never leaving any left over as it would spoil by morning.

When dinner was done (Xiang nestled in by the fire after a rather cute yawn) and the dishes were cleaned in the last of the water from the day (she now only required two buckets from the well) Zhen finally wandered into a small room on the side, the bamboo-made curtain clacking gently. Her window was open, as she was accustomed to, and she lay down on a well-used futon (one of the only things herself and Fon had not made themselves.)

There were only three rooms to the house; the main one, with storage for dried herbs and meats and jarred vegetables and fruits as well as the fire, and two bedrooms. She never went into Fon's room, even after he left. It was a mystery to her, but she didn't mind.

For Fon, she didn't mind anything.

-x-

And 35 years of waiting turned into 41 years and suddenly, Zhen was 55. She wasn't so young anymore, and her delusions of Fon returning started to fade. It would still be their home, but with the dangerous job he seemed to have, she didn't know if even he would be gone this long. She didn't think he'd _want_ to be gone this long.

It was getting bad around the Provence she lived in. Wars were breaking out between gangs more fiercely than before. It was getting colder, and since the weather change, she'd already scared off ten different looters. Xiang was getting older and less mobile, she thought sadly, and gave him a small pat to the head, scratching behind his ears, as she picked up her buckets and made her way down the hill to the well.

On her way she picked some mint leaves and some other herbs she'd need soon. She'd dry them over the fire for tonight's meal, and the smell would be heavenly. It took more effort to get down the hill now, too. And more effort, still, to draw up water for the two buckets. But she managed, as she always did, and turned around before feeling…wrong. Something was wrong. Even in her older age, she picked up the buckets and nearly ran up the hill in a burst of adrenaline she hadn't felt in a long time. Not even when scaring off looters. Or bears.

As she was about to crest the hill, she smelt it. The smell of fire. Her fears were confirmed when she reached the top and dropped the buckets. They tumbled and spilt all their water. She belatedly realized that there were people running away from the scene, and her heart dropped. It was arson. All of her hard work (for what else could forty-one years be, besides hard work) was going up in flames. Zhen ran inside to try and save Xiang, the only other being on this Earth that mattered to her, but the smoke and flames were too all consuming for her to get in far enough.

With a strangled cry of anguish, Zhen fled the house and tripped, falling to the ground. She simply lay there, sobbing into her arms. Where would she go? How would she go on? She suddenly felt like she was eight again; lost in a world full of no one who cared. Her only friend was long gone, and her more recent companion…she didn't want to think about Xiang.

Without really any feeling at all, Zhen sat up and watched her home of forty-seven years burn. She would starve and freeze in the coming winter, she was sure, it was already very cold every night; cold enough to huddle with Xiang by the fire for additional warmth. There was nowhere to store food, or for protection from snow. What couldn't be destroyed by fire, Zhen morbidly noticed, had been smashed in by a weapon of some sort, like hammers or bricks.

In less than ten minutes, Zhen's home was gone.

It seemed like a life time that she stared into the smoldering remains.

-x-

It was around midday that Zhen finally had the strength to get up. She went inside to find what remained of Xiang, to bury him properly. Her tears were long gone. There was no sign of him, and her frustration returned. Couldn't she even give her companion a proper rest? Couldn't she even get that one, small amount of rest?

After a ten minute rummage through the rubble to salvage _anything_ Zhen felt like crying again as she gave up, her shoulders slumping. She turned towards where the front door had been and stopped short, a choked gasp escaping her lungs,

"_You!" _Her voice shook with a slight anger she didn't know she was capable of as she stared down the person in front of her. Anger grabbed hold as she swiftly made her way out the door, nearly running at the person who simply stood there.

"You…you monster! How could you?!" Tears flowed freely from her eyes, recognizing the man in front of her. The man who had left her for forty-one years of her life suddenly appeared when the home she had tended to so dutifully for him, had burned.

"I-I've waited for forty-one years. I tended to this home day after day, never knowing if you would come back, and just as I lose everything again, you show up. H-how could you, Fon?! Do you know how long I waited; acting like you'd be back every day? Wondering if maybe you were hurt somewhere and dying? That maybe this was all for nothing?!" Forty-one years of pent up emotions were finally released. Zhen's small, starting to wrinkle hands beat on his chest weakly as Fon stood there, not saying anything.

"Say something, dammit!" She screamed weakly, only to be pulled into a hug, "L-let go! Don't touch me, you-!"

"Zhen?" His quiet, unchanged voice murmured softly into her hair, "Is it really you? You have waited so long, tending this house, instead of abandoning it for the city?"

"What did you think I'd do?! I-It was supposed to be another j-job of yours. You never came back…" Zhen's voice faded into a quiet, accusing, hurt voice, "you never came back, Fon."

He pulled away and looked at Zhen, really looked at her. Fon looked the same as he had when he left. Lichie was even on his shoulder, happy as ever. And that brought thoughts of Xiang to Zhen, but her eyes were really dry this time.

Fon smiled at her, "You're beautiful, Zhen."

She weakly shoved him away, "I'm old, Fon. Old and worn down."

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

They stood in silence until Fon looked sharply over Zhen's shoulder. She whirled around and almost cried again. Xiang came out of the forest, looking unharmed. Zhen dropped to her knees and scooped the red panda into her arms, hugging him tightly, and murmuring into his neck.

"I'm going to tell you everything, Zhen. I should have from the beginning. If when I'm done, you want somewhere to go far away from me, I will understand and help you." Came Fon's quiet voice above her.

"I waited forty-one years for you, Fon. I'm not leaving now." She smiled weakly at him and motioned to the house, "But what about this? Our home?"

Fon seemed momentarily stunned and quietly said, "Our home?"

Zhen waited.

"We'll rebuild it together, Zhen."

-x-

A/N: I don't know where this came from. Probably because I never see FonOC and I want to explore Arcobaleno relationships. They all would've had one previous to turning (I strongly ship RebornLuce…) in some way. Brothers, sisters, friends…what happened when they suddenly disappeared?

I'll probably write another one-shot for Mammon. And Skull. Oh screw it, all of them.

I'm also neck deep in a ByakuranOC that is my brain child atm. It should go better than my other story on here, which has hit a dead end after a computer crash that deleted all my work on it…ugh.

I did so much math and re-math on this to make sure the age of Zhen is right…let me know if it's not?

Thoughts?

Please review!

-AkaMizu-chan


	2. Chapter 2

Zhen couldn't help but smiling as the first hint of spring fell upon her. It came as a warm, dry air from the south. It had been many years since Fon had returned, and Xiang had been long buried under the tree that she had found him huddled against, during a winter that seemed so very long ago.

A small home stood behind her, with one small wooden door and only three rooms; a room for a fire and provisions and two bedrooms. It stood on the same foundation as the one before it had, and had been rebuilt by two people bonded by trust and friendship.

She was seventy-five now. A nice, respectable number she thought, only one quarter of a century left until she was one hundred. Her grey eyes seemed to struggle to open every day, and it became harder to trek with Fon down the hill and back up with the well-drawn water. Her hands would shake at random times, and she sometimes forgot things. Like the soup on the fire, or what vegetable did she need to pick for their stores again? She began to feel it in her bones, though. Zhen realized she wasn't getting any younger, and part of her mind whispered that it was almost her time. Herbs could only do so much when you're sick.

Fon had started to age, but he took no new jobs. It seemed that after the Arcobaleno affair he was content to just live in this humble home, on top of a hill, in the middle of a forest in China.

_Zhen didn't cry once through Fon's story. She sat and listened with an open heart and at the end she had hugged him._

"_Thank you for telling me, Fon."_

_And he had smiled, his own arms wrapping around her only-slightly-old body and returning it._

"_Thank you for waiting, Zhen." Was his equally soft reply._

And so they had lived for the next twenty years, Fon's eyes were always watching carefully as she failed at jobs that had once been so easy for her, ready to help her with a kind word and smile.

"Zhen." Came Fon's voice from behind, a gentle hand placed on her shoulder.

She turned and looked at him. Even at the age of forty-three, Fon looked young as ever. His eyes still held the same warmth as his smile and his soul. "Yes, Fon?" Her voice was a little raspy today, and tea just hadn't seemed to wash it away.

"Come, please. Sit."

And so she did, looking at him, "Yes?"

"Zhen." He paused, his smile wilting a little as his eyes turned contemplative, "You are sick, yes?"

Her heart palpitated, "No, Fon, I'm simply getting older." She smiled at him, "It's bound to happen, I am seventy-five."

His eyes looked slightly hurt, as they usually did, when he was reminded that he was physically younger than her, and would most likely out-live her, even if he was mentally older, "It pains me, Zhen; that you would lie like this. I am attuned to life around me, and I feel it pulling at my heart every day. You struggle to walk up the hill with me in the morning. You struggle to remember tasks you wish to complete. It pains me to see you like this." His hand drew her closer and pulled her against him, "If you are sick, I will take you to a hospital and—"

And Zhen laughed.

"All things must die, Fon. Like Xiang under the tree, or the fish we catch for food. I would have died many years ago without you. I remember being eight and scared and broken and so very lonely, but you saved me. You gave me many more years of life to enjoy and _live._ I do not want to go to some hospital where they will simply shut me in a room with a single window to view the world from. I want to be within the world, for the world is my room and there is no window needed there." She wrapped her arms around Fon lightly, "I will not burden you, however. If I have become one, then I will simply wander off, Fon, and live freely, while freeing you so you may do as you please."

Fon's grip tightened just a little and Zhen stopped. She felt him take a deep breath and calmed as she felt the rumble of his voice through his chest, "You have never been a burden, and I wish I hadn't seemed to come off that way. I will care for you, as you cared for this home, for as long as I am able to do so. There is no greater blessing, Zhen. You have brought me immense happiness, and a freedom you do not realize. You gave me a reason to continue on my journey through pain, something to return to, in the end. I always worried that you wouldn't be here when I got back. That something had happened. I... I just want you to get better. That is all."

He pulled away slightly and looked down at her, his gaze passion and warmth, "I love you, Zhen. To what extent I do not know, and I thought of you often while I was away. Part of me wanted you to leave, to continue to live a life not shrouded by my mystery, to live a life free of me and waiting. The other half wanted to be able to see you when I returned, a selfish part that wanted to continue to care for you. For me to be the only one to do so."

And Zhen felt her breath catch as they suddenly seemed to be nose to nose, and she was twenty something all over again, dreaming about Fon coming back and sweeping her off her feet and marrying her, and living out a good life here with children to raise—and it came crashing down when she realized she was seventy-five and not twenty-five and that Fon was fifty years too late.

She pulled back.

And regretted it, seeing a hurt look cross Fon's face.

The only one she had ever loved.

"Fon." She said softly, "I am seventy-five and you…you are physically forty-three. I do not know how long I will live, and I will not allow you to be alone and hurt when I am gone."

And Fon had nothing to say. For nothing he could say would change her mind, he knew. In her years of loneliness, she had become independent and set in her ways. He smiled at her, albeit sadly, before hugging her once more and helping her stand.

"Let us finish today's work. Shall we, Zhen?"

She smiled back, "We shall."

-x-

He started to notice more and more signs of Zhen's failing health.

Her slow manner of speaking, as if she wasn't sure of what she was saying.

The way her hands shook when carrying even the dried herbs.

How she would look at him in confusion before saying his name.

Her eyes seeming to follow an invisible animal before becoming sad, knowing he wasn't there.

How she forgot where the vegetable garden was ("Oh, silly me!" She said)

And how she could barely walk in the mornings.

-x-

It was only a few months later when Fon woke up one morning and went into the fire room, the first one up as always. He stoked the fire as Lichie came from outside and jumped onto his shoulder. His fingers gently stroked Lichie's fur, earning an excited chatter from the monkey. With a little of light on the horizon, Fon set out to gather today's water before Zhen woke up. He wanted to do everything he could to help her, and often tried to get most of the work done before she awoke. A smile crept onto his face as he thought of how irate she was when we did this.

And so he gathered the buckets and walked down the hill, gathering it up, and picked up all four buckets (he continued his training even though he no longer took missions; it made him relaxed along with the meditation he partook in everyday) and went up the hill. Except there was no Zhen to greet him as usual.

He set the buckets down and went inside, towards Zhen's room, "Zhen?"

There was no response so he gently moved aside the curtains, to find an empty bed. His mind was surprisingly calm, as he had been trained to remain calm in almost every situation. He carefully eyed the room and determined no intruder had entered, and the window wasn't big enough for anyone to really fit through, unless they were child sized.

He went outside, knowing Zhen wasn't in the house, and began a small search for her. His small search turned into a couple of hours, and he finally found her down by the stream, her toes stuck in. He smiled, relieved, and reached out to touch her-

"No! Nononono!" Zhen screamed, turning around, twisting and falling into the water. Fon reached out quickly, nearly grasping her hand as she fell from his grasp, and suddenly he was diving in to help pull up a struggling Zhen.

"Zhen! Zhen, it's Fon-"

"F-Fon?" Her voice trembled, grey eyes focusing on his face, and his relief was only temporary as- "Do I know you?"

-x-

It only got worse from there. Fon moved their beds into the fire room to keep an eye on Zhen. She seemed to have good days; her years of routine coming back without a thought, but the bad quickly seemed to outnumber the good.

She would wake screaming at night, eight years old again and helpless and broken. Or she would be fifteen, crying about her feelings of abandonment (they wretched at Fon's heart for he had no idea how much he had affected her.) Sometimes she was twenty and spouting at Fon how happy she was he came back because, yes, she loved him very much (these were nearly as bad, for he had finally realized his own feelings but too late, too late, too late.) And then there was a thirty year old Zhen who was slightly bitter and sad and everything in between.

Fon would talk to her, no matter what. He talked about random events as an Arcobaleno, and his friends (he counted them as friends, regardless of their thoughts. They all knew they'd always be there for each other.) And about his own master growing up (did she know that this was his childhood home, and his master's before him?) His nomadic ventures around the world always seemed to make her smile whether she knew him or not. Every retold story tore at his hearts, but her elation to each story seemed to lessen the pain.

…

"Fon." Zhen's voice was crystal clear as she interrupted his story of Tsuna, who was now Vongola Decimo and well renowned for his kindness in the world. His kindness was healing the mafia, and Tsuna was still only forty and had many years to change the world.

"Yes, Zhen?"

"Can you sit me beneath the sun please? I want to feel the sun."

It was a midsummer day as Fon helped her up (she refused to be carried) and escorted her outside beneath her favorite tree, the one Xiang was under. Lichie climbed down from the branches to settle into Zhen's lap. She smiled and petted him, leaning on Fon who leant on the tree.

"I want to tell you a story," she said. Today was one of her better days, Fon concluded. Her eyes closed against the sun and she seemed to sign in satisfaction as its warmth radiated down onto her body.

"_Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She was trapped in a dark castle, held by an evil witch. The young princess knew nothing but pain and darkness. The sun never reached their kingdom and everyone living under the witches reign was turned into a dark beast._

_ But, in a kingdom far away, there was a prince. He was a fair and kind prince, like his father had taught him to be. His goal in life was to help people and teach them the goodness of the Earth and all things created. The sun always shone in this kingdom, even at night, for the moon reflected the sun's light._

_ One day, the prince heard of the girl who was trapped and couldn't bear the thought of another being harmed in such a way. He took a horse against his father's orders and rode day and night for a fortnight to get to the evil kingdom._

_ There were many obstacles in his way, however. Beasts howled and chomped their teeth at him, snarling in the darkness. The prince, however, had a sword that would reflect the sun's infinite light so long as someone believed in good. This sword kept the beasts at bay as they could not stand the light._

_His ride through the kingdom was dangerous and long._

_ He finally came upon the castle and crossed the bridge before getting off his horse and venturing inside. At the top of the stairs through the main hall was a beautiful woman. She had eyes like stars and hair like spun gold. Her mouth had a silver tongue and it was with this that she led the prince down into the deepest parts of the castle._

_ The beautiful woman tried to talk the sword out of his hands, but it was important, he knew, to keep it. He stepped closer and the woman hissed, and suddenly it was clear to him what had happened. He raced up the stairs into the tallest tower and opened the door of the broken princess._

_ Her hair was dark brown, nearly black, and her eyes were grey as could be. And he rushed to her and handed her his sword 'take hope' he said, 'I will return, princess, but I must complete a quest to vanquish the evil witch.'_

_ And she waited for many years. One day he returned and freed her, and killed the evil witch once and for all. There was a huge celebration and all in the kingdom were returned to normal. But she was young still, and did not know or understand the feelings she had for the prince."_

Fon smiled, his eyes closing at Zhen's peaceful and soothing voice drifting over him. It was a nice story.

_ "And one day she realized the prince loved her and she loved him, but it was not meant to be; for the last curse from the evil witch was for the prince to age slowly, so the princess would get older and older and he would stay young. Even after he broke the curse with the help of a magical clam, he only aged normally. And now the princess was old and graying. To the princess, it would hurt the prince less if he just never knew of her love for him. So she always pretended and always prayed he would never find out."_

Fon was fast asleep, his breathing even.

"And in the end, it hurt her. To know what could have been, and what wasn't. And she regretted that she never got her kiss after the prince had treated her like such a princess."

Zhen let out a sigh and smiled at Fon. She kissed his cheek and he smiled in his sleep.

"Sleep well, Fon."

She closed her eyes, revealing in the warmth of a sun-kissed day.

-x-

Fon woke up, feeling refreshed. Zhen had told such a nice story, and he was glad it was a good day. His mind couldn't remember the ending, and he hoped Zhen would retell the end to him. He felt her body against his and smiled, turning his head slightly. Something was wrong.

"Zhen?" He implored, placing a hand on her arm only to realize it was cold; colder than it should have been on a warm day in midsummer.

"Zhen." His voice was firmer and not at the same time, turning fully. She was smiling, and not moving.

Lichie jumped onto his shoulder.

Fon wasn't sure when the last time he cried was.

-x-

A few days later, local villages reported a giant bonfire on the hill. Did someone still live out there, they wondered? Were they okay?

No one checked.

-x-

Fon wandered for years. He went to visit Reborn and Yuni and Vongola Decimo; even his nephew Hibari. He travelled to see the Aurora borealis in the north, and watch penguins in the south. Lichie went with him.

-x-

It wasn't until he was well into his nineties (which mentally made him well into his one hundreds) that Fon returned to China. Many more buildings had been erected and more people filled the streets. He bypassed the cars and trains and bikes. His journey had a different ending.

Lichie, too, was old. He clung to Fon desperately, weakly. Fon told him only a little long.

He reached the top of a hill, which was still untouched by civilization. He saw an old well on his way up and at the top found little hills of earth that looked to be hiding something, if someone knew what had once been there. Fon stretched and laid down under a familiar tree and sighed, joints cracking in his old age.

Lichie curled up beside him and chattered slowly, before sleep over took him.

Fon looked up and thought he saw grey eyes and brown-black hair.

"Welcome back." He heard, and suddenly he was twenty three again.

"I'm home."

-x-

And the sky wheeled overhead.

-x-

A/N: Aaaaand done. Obviously. This story got more support than I anticipated, what?

I was originally going to leave it as a one chapter ordeal, but I didn't like the ending. It was waaay too open and this wasn't meant to be a happy ending…ick.

I wanted to explore the lives the Arcobaleno had before, during, and after. They probably never went home to family or friends in their baby forms…and well, there aren't any FonOC stories out there... I think this works out rather well considering that their mental age vs physical age upon "re-growing up" would be rather straining on relationships in the past. I don't even think a normal relationship would be possible at this point.

Fon also strikes me as very humble and very caring from the manga. I don't know, what do you guys think?

I might make one for Luce (who is obviously pregnant…) or Mammon (possibly one for both genders as it's never exactly clear…) Verde would be interesting too.

Reborn as well. Colonello and Lal kind of already have a before and after story, and Verde or Skull don't strike me as the friend type. But, we'll see.

Thank you for reading! Please Review, I'd like some feedback. (:


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